And the popularity of cell phones and the social media aspect of it all makes people that much more dangerous behind the wheel. When I first started driving 25 years ago, I had a cell phone but you paid per minute used (it was primarily for emergencies) and there was definitely nothing ‘smart’ about it.
Now we have evolved into a society that cannot put their phones down long enough to make sure we don’t run a stop sign or red light. There are cars that can get wifi because we can’t go on the road without being connected.
According to a Teen Driving Statistics website in 2012, 2,823 teens between the ages of 13 and 19 died in motor vehicle crashes. 48% of those crashes were single-vehicle accidents. Compare that to 1975 statistics and the number increased by 68%.
Driver error seems to be a big issue when it comes to accidents – but what does that mean? Is it because they took their eyes off the road a split second too long, over-corrected their steering wheels, zoning out?
Drinking and social media were the primary blames for a fatal accident over the summer that took the lives of several younger women. There was another accident on the parkway where a woman went the wrong way on an on-ramp and hit a family taking their newborn baby home from the hospital. The baby will need ongoing surgeries.
This summer while the family and I were coming home from the beach, there was a very large car carrier tractor trailer loaded with new cars – going way too fast – that didn’t slow down enough for the curve in the interstate and almost lost his load. Thankfully he was able to pull his shit together and not flip – because that would have caused a chain reaction of accidents.
Bottom line, if you go out and have a few drinks, call a taxi or Uber. Texting or social media apps – don’t do it while driving.
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